In a unanimous decision, the Westminster City Council has taken legal action against former police officer Nicole Brown, accused of major worker's compensation insurance fraud totaling more than $600,000, while she purportedly engaged in an array of activities inconsistent with her claimed disability. The civil lawsuit filed on July 8, 2025, aims to recoup disability and medical payments claimed illegitimately by Brown and pursue costs related to the lawsuit's investigation and prosecution, as per Westminster's official press release.
The Orange County District Attorney’s office has charged Brown with 15 felony counts including making fraudulent insurance benefit claims and making a fraudulent statement to obtain compensation, her stepfather, Peter Gregory Schuman, a workers’ compensation defense attorney, is charged with aiding her in the scheme, with Brown potentially facing up to 22 years in prison and Schuman up to eight, "This former police officer has betrayed the public trust" said Mayor Chi Charlie Nguyen in a statement aired across multiple sources that echoes the sentiment of the council's stance against fraud in the city ABC7. Despite her claims of sustaining a severe concussion syndrome from an altercation on the job which left her sensitive to light and noise, authorities have since determined through investigations that Brown has been able to ski, run 5K races, and was seen dancing at the Stagecoach Music Festival, as per CBS News Los Angeles.
The lawsuit filed by the city seeks repayment for all misappropriated funds, with officials stating they owe it to the residents and the honest police force of Westminster to take such action, hoping the lawsuit sends a strong message against the misuse of public money and the protection of funds meant for genuinely injured employees, according to KTLA News.
Further allegations suggest Brown was also active in other endeavors such as attending baseball games, playing golf, taking online university classes, which indicates a level of function not aligned with her claims of disability, the city of Westminster and prosecutors argue, aiming to recover over $600,000 in misused disability payments to ensure that public funds are shielded from fraud and appropriately allocated to those in genuine need, in line with Mayor Nguyen's statement obtained by various news outlets including ABC7 and KTLA.
